Blinding Darkness - Zelda X Ganondorf

Chapter 24

A day later.

     Aria slashed through the hordes of shadow beasts that vaguely resembled wolves that had ambushed her, black blood arcing from every sword hack she dealt to the enemies.

     The child strapped to her front was wailing, squirming restlessly, and Aria tried not to mind how much torment this was putting the baby through.     

     "Hang on, Link." She whispered to the child, turning and front jabbing one that was getting too close for comfort. "I'll get you out of this."

      As she waded through the enemies, leaking through the wide-open portal, Aria raised her eyes to the town standing over a hill, the only source of hope in her world.

     Get him to the town. And then they would be safe.

     She fought on.

     Within the Castle, Zelda was driven back step after step, holding out Ganondorf's sword as a vain attempt to defend herself.

     A gigantic, shapeless mass of darkness was across from her, both trapped within the very heart of the Castle. A tendril of shadows shot out from its writhing body, and Zelda barely dodged it, sweat beading her forehead.

     This beast was what kept the portal alive. Zelda had seen how, when she had once managed to drive the sword into one of its tentacles, the black-purple rip at the very center of the capacious space dimmed slightly, as though it was taking damage along with the beast.

     Zelda spared a glance at the portal, watching shadows swirl slowly within its center, spewing out death.  

     How could she survive five days here alone, let alone five years?

     "But I need someone that can govern the Gerudo for years, not a few weeks!" Ganondorf said with a hint of impatience. "If I don't help the Princess, the menace can easily spread to Gerudo town."

     "Lord Ganondorf, you are our rightful king." One of his courts looked like she was trying hard not to let her tone fall to despair. "There is no one that can replace you for years."

    "Then how about you rotate being the chief or something?" Every second he spent here was every second that he was leaving Zelda to die. "I cannot stay here for much longer."

     "My Lord, with all due respect, you have yet to be more specific about what exactly is it we're up against." Another Gerudo prompted gently. 

     Ganondorf fought to keep his calm. "A portal had been opened in Hyrule. That led to the shadow realm. And now it's seeping out into this dimension. It's deadly to light dwellers. If it should spread all the way here, it would mean the demise of all of Gerudo."

     "But how did the portal open in the first place?" Another one piped up. 

     He hesitated, then lied. "I'm not sure. Perhaps a failed experiment. Everyone in Hyrule Castle is dead at this moment."

     To his relief, none of them were dim-witted enough to suggest they take over.

     "We do have deputies." The first Gerudo suggested tentatively. "And other officials. They can work together to cover your absence."

     "Exactly what I was thinking." Ganondorf spread his hands, reassurance written all over his face. "I'll leave their organization to you, as the court, then."

     Ready.

     Aria strode boldly into Hateno Village, ignoring the suspicious glares that she attracted. People poked their heads out of windows to stare at her, and the baby on her chest. It was a good thing that she had remembered to hide her Master Sword. She wanted to deal with neither the reverence nor the hate that came with the Triforce of Courage.

     The mayor of Hateno Village looked up from his papers as she marched into his office. 

     "Who have we here?" He squinted through his round glasses. 

     Aria pointed to the pen and notebook laying by his hand. He slid it over to her, looking mildly curious.

     How much for that house at the back of the town? She wrote, as blunt as ever.

     "A house?" Now he looked astonished. Dimly, Aria was sardonically amused. "What's a little girl like you want a house for?"

     I don't need a house. My boy does. She watched his expression change fast. 

     "The... child?"

     That's right. She wrote stoutly, her chin up.

     To her fury, the man began to shake with laughter.

     "You're-- Buying a house-- For the--" He took one look at her and burst out in another fit of laughter. Aria watched all of this, unimpressed.

     Obviously not. I need a house to keep this baby in.

     "Little girl." He straightened his glasses, his face still tinged pink from laughter. "Houses are hundreds of thousands of rupees. How are you to pay for it?"

     Just name the price. I'll find a way.

     "..." He finally took a good look at this stubborn girl standing before his desk for the first time. There was a huge cut across her face, her clothes ragged and torn, and behind the hardness in her strange, golden eyes, there was some sort of desperation brewing in their depths.

     To his dismay, he felt pity surge in his chest.

     "Let's see here. I will sell you that house, for the price of only four thousand rupees, on the condition that you can get me this money in three days." He stared at this girl, trying to detect any amount of doubt in her face.

     Instead, a wide, rather savage smile split her face. She scribbled down a single word, underlined it twice, then slid it over the desk and left.

     Bet.

     Zelda was on the floor, fighting for breath, shaking violently. Ganondorf's sword was laying a few meters away from her, useless either here or there.

     It had touched her. The shadows had met her bare skin. She was terrified of even looking at her arm.

     Zelda was going to die. She closed her eyes and prayed for it to be painless.

     "NO!"

     A soft gasp escaped her lips, and she looked up to see the twin of the sword she had lost, embedded in the mass of shadows.

     Ganondorf!

     Hope rekindling into a roaring fire in her chest, she darted up to the swords, ignoring the blazing pain at her wound, and ripped it out of the shadow being. She whipped around, and there he stood.

     "Sorry I'm late." He was grinning widely.

     "Never keep a lady waiting." Zelda pressed the swords into his hands, laughing softly. "I believe these belong to you."

     "Thank you kindly." He bowed, then turned back to the shadows, rising higher and higher in rage. "Now, shall we do some violence?"

     "Violence is my favourite hobby." She smiled, a genuine smile of pure happiness.

     And together they charged, together again.

     Nothing could get in their way.

A/N: A shorter chapter, and I don't even know what to say. I kinda like this chapter, to be short to round out the super long last chapter. And I like the spark of hope at the end.

Expect shorter next chapters. There's not going to be a lot to write about, but I still want to write these chapters, for time coverage. 

Oh, yeah, and by the way. You know how in the last chapter, I kept on referencing this clock? It's only symbolic, to give the reader a feeling of doom. It's not a real life clock. Just thought I would make that clear.

All criticism welcome!